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Saturday, March 31, 2012

WARRIORS ADVANCE

MOOSE JAW -- The Moose Jaw Warriors are off to round two of the WHL playoffs after a 5-2 victory over the Regina Pats Friday night before a soldout crowd at Mosaic Place. With the win Moose Jaw wins the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal 4-1.

The Warriors built up a 4-0 lead in the first period and it was all the offence they would need. The Tribe also outshot the Pats 14-0 in the opening period. Moose Jaw's goals came from Justin Kirsch, Brayden Point, Cody Beach, Torrin White and in the third period, James Henry. Regina's goals over the final 40 minutes came from Trent Oullette and Lane Scheidl. The Warriors outshot the Pats 32-16.

Regina was without goaltender Matt Hewitt (broken wrist) and captain Brandon Davidson (seperated shoulder) along with forward Dyson Stevenson (suspended). The first two were injured in overtime of Game 4.

Congratulations Pats on a fine season and good luck Warriors the rest of the way.
RP

43 comments:

Only 2 words to describe tonight (and most of the series) – TOTAL DOMINATION by the Warriors. A well deserved series win. Hopefully they can keep it going and get to the Cup. Their team has lots of depth and plays a great system (I think, as we certainly couldn't figure out how to stop them for the most part).Hopefully PC and the Asst coaches will use the video from the series and just see how inept we were in our end, and in the Warriors end. MJ forwards continually held onto the puck in our end and beat our defense to the net. OUR defense which we heard before the series was one of, if not, the best defense in the Eastern conference. Well obviously not, as faster, much smaller MJ forwards made them look terrible as they hung out Hewitt (or Beuky) to dry . Now, when we managed to get into the offensive zone, Pats forwards did very little cycling, and made every effort to get it back to our defense where 2 Warrior forwards were sitting (as they knew our system) and most of the time we didn't get a shot. Why we didn't work it towards the net more is beyond reason. Power play comparison...well there isn't one. Pats played same system for most of the year...use Weal, and newly acquired Marincin, on the point to make the play with a shot or a set up...with not good success. Warriors coaches, using good hockey sense, saw this in the regular season so just told the forwards to hang out near the blue line as the puck will end up there more often than not. We may have had reasonable puck possession during PP but very few, if any, quality shots before it was dumped down. MJ PP was puck possesion down deep until all 4 Pats players were within a 15 foot radius of Hewitt, and ended up with a lot of scoring chances. For some reason we got the Warriors back on their heels a bit in the 4th game but certainly not tonight with a 4-0 start and ZERO shots against...unbelievable. Good thing they let their foot off the pedal or else could have been a whitewash I'm afraid. As far as next year likely won't see Weal back but sure was a pleasure watching him over the past years, with or without the other Jordan. Good luck in your future hockey career wherever that may be!Bill W

I dunno Rod. I never liked the smell of this as the season was winding down at the end there. It certainly felt like Lang et al wanted us to throw those last 2 regular season games vs Brandon to enhance our chances of meeting MJ in the first round. You can never pick your match-ups in the playoffs boys! You end up with this false sense of security. I'm sure that was enough bulletin board material for MJ before this series even began. Then we give them even more with all this hogwash over Beach, et al. For christopher sakes Conacher, worry about your own team instead of the other team and maybe we'd get a shot or two on net! And wait, since I'm already typing...why do some of these Pats "fans" go on about about how crappy MJ is and how there's nothing to do there??? Just because Regina is a bit bigger? I love Regina (like Fiacco says), but I'd rather go kick rocks in MJ before entertaining myself in Regina sometimes. There's more things to do in Winnipeg than in Regina, does that make it a better city than Regina then?? Hey, Etobicoke has an IKEA there, we don't. We must suck hey? Hey, MJ has a beauty of a geothermal spa/hotel, Swift Current does not. Swift must suck big time. Your life is what you make of it wherever you are my friends. Try leaving your neighborhood for once. I know you punks can't leave your keyboard cuz you're busy looking for girlfriends online, but take a break for christopher sakes.Ahh, feel a tad better. For now.Gordon Shumway

On behalf of Warrior fans, THANKS to the Pats for providing us fans here in MJ with such amazing games this here. Hope you enjoyed our facility as much as we enjoyed yours, and see ya atthe rinks next season.

Gordon, you're taking it all a little too seriously. The blog can be a complete joke when MJ/Regina meet, and you just have to take the entertainment value out of it. Some responses are hilarious, others are just stupid. Either way, it's the internet. E-thugging is easy!

As for the game, slow start killed the Pats again. They tried to make a game of it, but just couldn't make it happen. Great season, and here's to hoping the NHL locks out next season! Haha...I don't really want that, but if it means Weal probably coming back, I don't really care! Would love to watch him for one more season.

Also, had a first hand experience with the kind of people that post the things they do on here. At the game tonight, my bro and I were sitting in front of two Pats fans (we're from Regina...cheering for the Pats), and the entire game, they just yelled non sense about the reffing, the Warriors, anything they could, then when the Pats started pressuring, they couldn't even give them credit. By the end though, they started swearing and there was a little girl a seat over, and a guy beside me turned around and told her about the girl, then she flipped out more, swearing. Finally, we had to intervene after they started yelling at the little girls dad. We told them we were from Regina, and that they are giving OUR city a bad name, and they flipped out calling us MJ people. A little yelling match occurred after between us, and we apologized to the people around us, and told them were not all like that. So, if anyone from Section B reads this, again, we apologize for the ridiculousness that went down right at the end. To be clear though, certainly not apologizing for the two others. It was nothing but embarrassing!

/rant

On a final note, I will not be cheering on the Warriors from here on out! GO OIL KINGS!!!

Gotta keep my hate on! Growing up with how the old rivalry was, it will just never leave me! Plus, I really like Edmonton's team. I cheered the Warriors on once to the final, but they let me down! YOU HAD YOU'RE CHANCE!

Same thing with the Canucks. I really don't like the team, but I cheered them on last year, and they let me down!

Though I will say, have fun cheering you're team on! Definitely have the tools to go far. Just hope that Beach doesn't start getting called more. The penalty shot tonight was a joke. There is a downfall to having such great replays in Mosaic Place!

First visit to the the new rink tonight, it is beautiful!!! Congrats to the people of Moose Jaw. We are all Saskatchewan people and I will be cheering for the Warriors and would love to see them in the Memorial Cup. At the end of the day I think that hurling insults at each other's cities because of teenage boys playing hockey is more than a bit ridiculous. Good luck Warriors. I am proud of the Pats for their never quit attitude. Congrats on a great year!

Thank you Pats on a fun and exciting season, Sept can't come fast enough. You guys played your asses off all year and showed heart. Davidson, Bidlevskii, Marantz thank you for being hgreat leaders and congrats on your junior careers. Myself I will not be cheering for MJ, in fact I could really careless on who wins the league. Go Pats Go! See ya next year.

The difference between both teams was clearly size and depth. Rod on the sports cage was giving it to Weal and was saying he needed to be better, you know what when you have only 1 good scoring line and no depth, teams will shut down that top line, NOT Weals fault! Happened to Fleury against Brandon years back when they put a guy against him and shadowed him the whole series! Pats will be a good team the next couple of years, nothing to hang your heads about! I was not impressed with Pat Conachar, showed no class after the game by not shaking hands with the Warrior coaching staff!! He can be mad at the refs or whatever but the better team won!! GO WARRIORS!!!

Roddy, thanks for bring the "show on the road" to our city. Hopefully you can come for round two.

-Pats spent too much time worrying about what MJ was doing, not focused on themselves. They LET Beach get to them.

-MJ has a forecheck we can't handle. They stay on our defensemen, and we get pinned in our end while their cycle kills us

-0 shots in 1st period, brutal.

-Why Conacher wouldn't shake hands is kinda beyond me. He says he didn't see Stothers on the bench and "wasn't going to chase him down the hall"? Huh? Then explain how the other coaches and trainers saw him then??? lmao

Agree with Bill W. I have watched hockey for literally 35 years. I can NOT remember seeing a team not register a shot in a period of a playoff game (or reg season). Realistically would it have mattered if we had Davidson, Hewitt and Stevenson? No. All it would have meant was maybe a 2 or 3goal lead, but then MJ would have attacked us more in the 2nd and 3rd. I thought Beach showed class when he hugged our players like Jobke and Bidlevski. Sadly, our coach did not. Kudos to Dixon and Cameron who did wait to exchange handshakes with Warrior coaches.

Bottom line, we did NOT rebuild. We need to start. Let's FINALLY stick to a plan once and for all, and stop with trying to be "pretty good" and build towards being "very good"...

As a loyal Regina Pat fan, I hereby move that fans of the Pats now mobilize their support behind the great city of Moose Jaw and their Warriors in their quest to become WHL champions in 2012. Can I have a seconder?

Oil Kings will be tough to get past by anyone. To beat the Oil Kings, you will need all the breaks, 0 mistakes and a detailed game plan which must be followed to a "T". Pretty tough task. When I say they have it all in every aspect from top to bottom, I speak the honest truth. Good luck to all that attempt that feat. I sincerely mean that.

Pat Conacher is the reason this team did anything this year. He got the most possible out of a very mediocre team. Going on a decade now we're still not playing any meaningful hockey in April. The bar has been so low here for so long that finishing 7th in the conference and a 1st round playoff exit looks good. We didn't stick to the rebuilding plan and went with an older team. In the process we lost out first round bantam pick this year. There is little quality returning. Klimchuk and Stephenson are good but young and small. Burroughs is good but small. Our goaltending was hot and cold all season. There is very little left after that. You won't win with 16, 17, and 18 year old players. Lang has to find some talented 19 yr olds as well as some size. With all the graduations he will be severely challenged to put much of a team on the ice. Pat Conacher made the season respectable with what he had to work with. Hopefully he gets some talent to show what can be done, before he gets snatched up by a pro team. Thw quest to make the playoffs has put the rebuilding process behind a bunch. All of that for two home playoff gates? Lang will have to be a magician to make acquisitions for this upcoming season.

Congratulations to the Pats on a tremendous season of WHL hockey, I only wish the Pats would have come to play in the playoffs. They were lucky to win game 1, and unfortunately didn’t show up to play 60 minutes of hockey for the rest of the series. This series could have easily been over in 4, and likely should have been. It was a complete beat down by a way more skilled hockey club. I personally believe that the Pats will regress next season, and next season will be the one where the team has a hard time putting up 15 wins. They are losing a ton of talent in Weal, and unless Lang can be a Magician in the off season, they don’t have a ton of talented offensive players, or any for that matter to make fans here think they will be as good as this past season. Especially unfortunately once Weal is gone, I am crying inside, because Weal is leaving, and they will be losing a lot on the back end as well, and unfortunately I am scared that will mean a long, long, long year for the Pats and their fans. Yes, Conacher is an amazing coach, but only he can do so much with a team that doesn’t have a ton of talent. I will however be returning for another year, because I purchased the playoff package and now have a large credit for next season. Pretty smart too do that on behalf of the Pats organization, I mean you know the team will never make it to the 3rd round, and therefore when you ask people to purchase the package, you know you will have a season ticket fan base in the coming season. Oh well it’s either very smart, or some people like me are really gullible. :-) Oh Well there is always next year, you know as a Pat fan, and Rider fan, you hear that statement a lot in the course of lifetime. Who knows maybe some year the Pats will finally make it past the 2nd round, and will go on a long, long run in the playoffs, I must be asleep or not fully awake, because I am sure I just had a dream. :-) Anyhow, I also hope and pray that Nostradamus’s predictions for 2012 are not accurate, because I would Love to see the Pats make it to the Memorial Cup before that happens. Anyhow have a great off season Pats, and their fans, I will see you in September. P.S. Go Warriors, I hope you can go to the final and make it to the Memorial Cup and win, the Warrior faithful, and the city have waited a long, long, time for a Championship, and are definitely well deserving of it.

To Ren and Stimpy that wore the striped suits at the Pats game on Wednesday, I hope you guys are offered by the league some lessons and training in the off season, because God forbid we don’t need an encore performance next season of your talented refereeing.

I second it Keith. The better MJ does the more it says about our club. Plus, MJ players/coaches showed class last night. Even their fans applauded BOTH teams. MMoose Jaw IS a pretty cool town. -Richard in Regina

I would like to say thanx to the pats for a very enjoyable year. Secondly for you so called pats fans, next year will be a very good team with 3/4 of this years team returning and a handful of blue chip prospects not just 16yr olds either. We traded away our 1st round pick and we mortgaged our future give your head a shake, the exp the young guys got is priceless going into the future. We have 2 second picks in a year the draft is pretty even after the top 5. Next years key players: Stevenson, Stephenson, klimchuck, volek, Schidel, ouellette, hunt, Burroughs, underwood, peel, and Hewitt, buek. This isn't a bad start now is it. The scary thing is they will still be young.

Ren and Stimpy. THAT is funny. Yes it was a battle, but in the end I do believe the better team won. Yes Pats suffered a setback in game 4, but if slewfooting is a match, then Dyson deserved what he got. My biggest complaint isn't with the kids, it IS with our classless behavior. We have become a laughing stock. Owners putting holes through walls, GMs files video of ridiculous infractions trying to get a kid suspended, coaches refusing to shake hands after a series? I mean, c'mon. Aren't we better than that? The sooner we start accepting our own shortfalls and issues and stop blaming refs and MJ players the better off w'll be. They kicked our ass 8-1 in game 3, then scored the first 5 goals in game 3, and had a 4-0 lead after 1st period last night, where we had 0 shots. ZERO shots. So our coach says after the game "I didn't think MJ was very good tonight"... Excuse me? Then he says he couldn't find Stothers to shake his hand, but it appeared BOTH asst coaches had no trouble finding Stothers, so is Pat losing his eye sight? Its just a sad day when people from all over the league are rolling their eyes at us, AGAIN! -TJ in regina

The biggest problem the Pats will likely face is keeping Conacher. He is a great coach and well repected by pro hockey people. He will get offers. Since the Pats have little quality older talent returing they have to improvise. They have to load up with big kids who can skate, even if their offensive side is a work in progress. If Conacher is here then he can teach them athe rest.Vancouver Giants have a Strength/Conditioning coach and a "Skills" coach. We need to have these big lanky kids get stronger over the season. The Pats must demand kids live in the weight room over the summer, and hire a full time Strength Coach like more than half the teams in the Dub have already done.

TJ.........your a fool. Go to some games before you shoot off your mouth. The Pats had fewer players suspended than nearly any team in the league. That must mean that discipline and honesty are being taught. Unless you know what was said by Beach, I think you have to shut up. It was something that disgusted the league. I notice they didn't send in the video of the slash that ended Davidson's season. Parker reacted like 6000 fans wanted to. It's been three or four years since he has been in poop. Always for defending his team fromm bull s__t. It may be that Conacher doesn't like Stothers. Conachers's charachter cannot be impuned by you. Patrick Roy is a crazy in the QMJHL with all sorts of suspensions. He is also one of the leading candidates to coach the Canadiens. Stop your stupid trashing of a very good and classy organization..your a fool!

For starters i highly doubt the Pats keep Hewitt around as a 20yr old goaltender when Beukeboom is going to be a quality goaltender. He is big covers alot of the net... Hewitts problem is he is a very small goalie who goes down far too often, he still had a great season but he will NOT be a 20yr old on a team that is going to lack offense again.... If the NHL gets locked out which is to be expected Weal will be back as a 20yr old to become the Pats all-time leader scorer, mark my word if the NHL locks out our 20yr olds will be Weal, Scheidl & Jobke...

Hewitt i believe will be traded to PG as they got crap for goaltending waiting in the wings as they had a 20yr old this year between the pipes to soften the blow.

I must say i was very surprised to see Conacher not shake hands of the Warriors brass i thought he was a more classy guy then that. Very disappointed in that.

All in all tho the season was a huge success for the Pats, & not having a 1st rd pick is no big deal like what was said above after the top 5 (like every year) there is a huge drop off & picks 6 thru 40ish is just who likes who more.

Our young core is 1 of the best in the league lead by Stephenson followed along with Volek, Klimchuk, Burroughs, Hunt & Beukeboom & then throw in guys like Williams (who should of made this team but wouldnt of seen any ice due to the depth) Harris & those 2 boys from Winnipeg we picked in the 2nd rd last year. This playoff experience is priceless for the Pats young core in there development. Our team this year reminded me alot of the Warriors they year they traded Hamonic to Brandon & still made the playoffs with a very young team & now look at the Warriors.

Roddy i hope on Monday u do the right thing & congratulate the Warriors on a great series win they do deserve it. Also would be nice if u did a year in review show on the Pats, the city is finally excited about this team again.

Saying the Pats didn't show up is an idiotic statement. They did their best with a team that just wasn't good enough. Perhaps, 3-4 years ago, before the new rules, they could have hacked and wacked and fought and obstructed their way to one more win, and even stole another one. But saying they didnt show up would be like entering a fat kid in a swim suit contest, and then when he loses saying he didnt try hard enough. At the end of the say, the Pats elevated as much as they humanly could to get to the playoffs, they ley momentum help them win a game and make another one close. But saying they didnt show up is insulting to the players and shows your lack of knowldge about the team and what a winning team loks like. They played over their head for much of the season, they walked on water for a while, and then, like Peter, they sunk. No shame. And certainly not a lack of effort or showing up.

Okey Anonymous, you have your opinion and I have mine, and in my opinion I think you’re on crack — no offence. You do make me laugh though, because you think the Pats players showed up and left everything on the ice. In my opinion, you saying this shows that you are the one that shows little or no respect. Than my comment stating that I wish the Pats would have shown up for the series. However, you referring to the Pats as "fat kids in a swim suit contest" is pretty damned funny. I ask you, do you even remember what the scores were in the games? Or are you just blowing smoke, because you have nothing better to do than type on a computer. Although, I do give you credit that you can use a computer. Because in what you are saying it honestly does amaze me. I will agree with you on one thing the Pats did get beat by a better team, and if you read my blog you would see that I confirmed that, however, you saying that they showed up shows exactly the opposite of respect. Either that, or you my friend are the one that knows nothing, snorts glue, inhales paint fumes, or gasoline, and if that’s the case, I am concerned for your safety and think you should see someone about your addiction. To prove my point, I will ask you, if you think a score of 8-1 in game 2 of the series is giving 110%? Or how about giving up 5 goals in game 3 of the series, in the first freaken period, yet? I guess you're right that is obviously kicking a lot of ass and giving it 110% and just getting beat by a better team. Or how about the shots on goal in game 5 of the series? In fact in this whole series there were many times that the Warriors had more goals than the Pats had shots, but I guess in your opinion once again that is giving 110% and laying everything on the ice, but just getting beat by a better team. God, I think you should be named coach the Riders, or the Pats, and the fans here can go back to wishing, hoping & praying for a Memorial Cup, or a Grey Cup Championship. Then we can support the teams, and just come to the realization of knowing that will never happen. Sorry, but in my opinion you’re the one that’s idiotic, and next time you want to blow smoke up someones rear end, I suggest you comment on someone else.